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I thought the faster the speed of the bird the less power it takes to send the bird back.
make it an obvious example:
smash vs drive.
well you get the picture. takes a lot of movement or racquet motion to return the drive than a smash.

hmm...to give an awesome
you dont need huge muscles to give an awesome smash!
you need strong muscles.
im not big, even so i got the 4th strong smash at my club.
its your technique and stability of you body.

yup..exactly..thats what v call explosive..but of course if both person hv the same explosive,skills,tecniques,timing,stamina,mentalit y and stability..the one with bigger mussles will produce a stronger smash 4 sure..

There's a whole range of exercises and thoughts here about how to develop a good smash. Remember though that some people are more naturally powerful than others. Whilst you can train to increase power, there is no substiute for natural power combined with good technique.

Because the smash is a combination of a throw action and pronation, a strong upper body helps. You do need strong triceps, forearms and wrists but you must train to develop both speed (which gives explosive power) and endurance. If you don't train for endurance then you may as well train for Mr Universe. You'll look good on the beach but probably won't hit many smashes before you're muscles are tired.

So multiple repetitions with light weights done quickly work well as you're building endurance rather than bulk.

To increase strength try slowing down the speed of your weight training. It'll shock your muscles! e.g press ups are great for building arm strength (including triceps), chest and shoulders. Instead of pumping 20 out real fast (which is great for explosive power), try a 3 count going down and 3 count coming up. Try a set of 10 at this pace. You'll feel your muscles working far harder because you do not have momentum to rely on which reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.

Overall, you do need to combine both strength training with endurance training to get the most out of this game. Remember, when you're hitting overhead after overhead, it's your endurance that keeps you going moreso than strength.

There's a whole range of exercises and thoughts here about how to develop a good smash. Remember though that some people are more naturally powerful than others. Whilst you can train to increase power, there is no substiute for natural power combined with good technique.

Because the smash is a combination of a throw action and pronation, a strong upper body helps. You do need strong triceps, forearms and wrists but you must train to develop both speed (which gives explosive power) and endurance. If you don't train for endurance then you may as well train for Mr Universe. You'll look good on the beach but probably won't hit many smashes before you're muscles are tired.

So multiple repetitions with light weights done quickly work well as you're building endurance rather than bulk.

To increase strength try slowing down the speed of your weight training. It'll shock your muscles! e.g press ups are great for building arm strength (including triceps), chest and shoulders. Instead of pumping 20 out real fast (which is great for explosive power), try a 3 count going down and 3 count coming up. Try a set of 10 at this pace. You'll feel your muscles working far harder because you do not have momentum to rely on which reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.

Overall, you do need to combine both strength training with endurance training to get the most out of this game. Remember, when you're hitting overhead after overhead, it's your endurance that keeps you going moreso than strength.

so we should do fast weight training and also slow weight training? Won't the slow reps make our muscles not be as explosive? or should we do slow weight or push ups slow (for strength) then finish off with fast ones (train for explosive)?

As badminton has so many combining factors, strength, speed, endurance etc you need to train for all. Light weights with higher reps and sets will help fatigue your muscles which is great training for endurance.

Heavier weights worked slowly make your muscle fibres work harder as there is no momentum to help the muscle complete the exercise. So the muscle is actually working for the complete exercise. These kind of exercises require low reps and fewer sets. This is more for strength training.

Explosion is when you combine power (strength applied quickly) and speed. This kind of training requires mid point weights that you can handle relatively easy to avoid serious injury. You then test number of reps and sets but I'd suggest 6 reps, 2-3 sets.

Actually i hv no idea about how to train up the mussles..but arguing slow or fast..i saw a video regarding lin dan and lee chong wei training..there is a part which show their physical training..they are all do it fast..so..what do u think..?

i think the focus of strengthening muscles when it comes to the arm should be to improve endurance and control rather than plain power. [Max] power in smashing doesn't come from just the top portion of your body.

Well, this subject is bit deep...
Let me classify people in to 3 distinctive groups based on what the acheive by exercise.

A- Weight lifters-they are really strong and bulky. But they lack on speed and stamina. Their weight training would be maximum weights and minimum repetition for a long time each day.

B- Gymnast or Body builders & short distance sprinters-They have good lean muscle count which looks really attractive. They have strength & speed, but stamina is not as good as some others. That is because of 2 reasons. 1-Lean muscles spend lot of energy for each activity 2-their overall body weight will be more because of the muscle count. Leans muscles are very good because that gives you speed & strength, also spends lot of energy and that prevents fat being accumulated in the body. You can acheive good lean muscle count by selecting a weight which would let you do between 12 to 15 counts and doing your maximum repetitions in 3 to 5 sets.

C - Long distance runners. They do not have strength & speed as group B, but they have stamina and they will last for hours doing what they do best. They acheive this by keeping shedding all extra body mass & doing exercise fast for a long time using minimum resistance (weight).

Now the big question is, where badminton players want to be?

We need speed and stamina (Endurance) but need not be very strong-We are going to move a racket which is about 100 gms or thereabout. Hence, we should be right in the middle of B & C groups. (You can not be all. For being one thing, you sacrifice others a bit.If you look for strength all the way, that can affect your speed & and if you look for muscle bulk, that can affect you stamina)

Your leg and thigh muscles matters most. Until you have strength there, nothing else matters. Even if you have upper body like that of Bruce-Lee and all the necessary skills, I can promise you that you are not going to win even a single game at professional level if you do not have a good lower body.

You need not start with weights straightaway. Your First 3 months could be all free exercise-Slow running up to 6 KMS a day, lot of ground exercise including push ups, side spreads, sit ups and squats. Once you pass this level, you may add weights. You need to concentrate on on your wrists, triceps, shoulder & biceps. Also you need good Omplc muscles as well (The muscles on the sides of abdominal)

Well, I found that many people concern too much on just the muscle but not the overall. Here is my opinion hope that it does not offend anyone.

I realize that the strength of muscle is not the only factor. I concern more on the balancing of the body especially the control of center of gravity. So far my experience is that my shot out of control if I did not change my center of gravity properly.

Seriously what I am trying to say is that my power actually come from the weight of my body. I move my center of gravity (CG) from back to front, and my hand is just like a tool. So, come to the time to concern where what is need from hand.

Since the major power are coming from change of CG, my hand needs to be precise where it does not use a lot of strength. Strength greater, accuracy lower. At the end I use a little strength from my shoulder to my finger to do the swinging mechanism.

After doing so, you shall be able to produce a fast + accurate shot. However, here come a problem is the vibration that caused by the impact. The vibration will sour your hand. If you want to experience the feeling, you can to take a driller and drill a hole on hard concrete. Now what you shall concern is that what you shall do to minimize this effect.

As mentioned by some people in the previous messages, they recommend endurance and so do I. The reason why I choose endurance is to deal with the effect after smashing. Please do not forget that the more powerful the smash is, the more damage to your own body. Most people injure because they did not put this into consideration.

Well, I found that many people concern too much on just the muscle but not the overall. Here is my opinion hope that it does not offend anyone.

I realize that the strength of muscle is not the only factor. I concern more on the balancing of the body especially the control of center of gravity. So far my experience is that my shot out of control if I did not change my center of gravity properly.

Seriously what I am trying to say is that my power actually come from the weight of my body. I move my center of gravity (CG) from back to front, and my hand is just like a tool. So, come to the time to concern where what is need from hand.

Since the major power are coming from change of CG, my hand needs to be precise where it does not use a lot of strength. Strength greater, accuracy lower. At the end I use a little strength from my shoulder to my finger to do the swinging mechanism.

After doing so, you shall be able to produce a fast + accurate shot. However, here come a problem is the vibration that caused by the impact. The vibration will sour your hand. If you want to experience the feeling, you can to take a driller and drill a hole on hard concrete. Now what you shall concern is that what you shall do to minimize this effect.

As mentioned by some people in the previous messages, they recommend endurance and so do I. The reason why I choose endurance is to deal with the effect after smashing. Please do not forget that the more powerful the smash is, the more damage to your own body. Most people injure because they did not put this into consideration.

This is actually due to poor technique and "forcing" more power into your stroke when you don't have the technique to channel it into the bird, making it end up in the joints. Shoulder problems often occur from overswinging, same with tennis elbow, though if you have a smooth, comfortable swing, then you will have tons of power but a lot less damage to joints.

200% agree !!

Originally Posted by Athelete1234

This is actually due to poor technique and "forcing" more power into your stroke when you don't have the technique to channel it into the bird, making it end up in the joints. Shoulder problems often occur from overswinging, same with tennis elbow, though if you have a smooth, comfortable swing, then you will have tons of power but a lot less damage to joints.

The fact is I realized many who practice more gain stronger ability of smashing. Through playing players gain the necessary experience+technique+power+endurance.

The reason is very simple, after doing many smashing the muscle will "evolve" to "smashing muscle". It sounds stupid but this is what our body made of, there is not much necessary to "modify" our muscle. Sometimes I found many 40+ years-old player (not bulky) having stronger smashes than 20+ player who attempt gym.

Just one rumor / suggestion, I heard that Indonesian national player practice their smashes through 100 (continues) smashes. Wow, I do not think I have that stamina to do that.